Over Fruit Punch
by Take this to Heart
Summary: James Potter has said, "I like you" countless times. He's said it over dinner, over homework, over-excitedly, even over Sirius' head in the hallway. When Lily Evans says it, it's over fruit punch.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, J.K. does (of course).**

"_I like you."_

* * *

><p>The first time he said it was in third year.<p>

He was a Chaser and the Quidditch star of third year; talented, funny, and the epitome of handsome. A party had been thrown to celebrate the Gryffindor's victory against Hufflepuff in the first game of the season, where they had won 180 to 0.

Slightly drunk off of newfound fame and smuggled in Firewhiskey, James Potter tottered over to where Lily Evans was reading a book.

"I like you," he told her, hiccupping slightly.

She looked up, startled, her cheeks slightly pink. Her eyes focused on his and studied him as he swayed, conflicting with emotions that didn't register in his vacant mind.

"You've been drinking," she finally said, and went back to her novel.

* * *

><p>The first time he meant it was in fifth year.<p>

He strutted over to her in the Common Room, sending her his patented smirk that never failed to get him whatever he wanted.

She glared at his confidence, hating the way he walked like he owned the place, and despising the way he acted like it too.

"Let me take you to Hogsmeade," he purred, reclining next to her on the couch and slipping an arm over her shoulder.

She stood up immediately, looking down at him in disdain.

"I just lost my best friend because of you," she began, her voice dangerously calm, "and you think you can just _take me _to_ Hogsmeade_?"

He nodded. "Well yeah. Snivellus isn't in our way anymore, so—"

"He wasn't in _our way_ to begin with, Potter! There is no _us_!" she exploded, her voice shrill. "You don't even care that you ruined everything, do you?"

"I didn't—you heard what he called you, that was not my fault!" he retorted loudly, standing up to face her, his brows furrowed and cool demeanor lost.

"Yes it was! If you would have just left him alone—"

"He would have called you that anyways!"

"No he wouldn't have!"

"It wasn't my fault, Evans!"

"Just take responsibility for once in your life, you insufferable Toerag!" she screamed, shoving him backwards and spinning on her heel, her eyes filled with furious tears. James caught her arm and she turned around, reproachfully, shouting out new accusations. "You probably planned it all out too, didn't you? You thought if you could torture him into hurting me, that you could just swoop down and—"

"I would _never_ intentionally cause you pain!" James shouted, breathing heavily. "I _like_ you, Evans! Just come to Hogsmeade—"

"Oh, fuck off, James!"

And she ripped her arm away and fled up to her dormitory to cry into her pillow where Potter wouldn't be around to make things worse.

* * *

><p>The first time <em>she<em> said it was in seventh year.

And that is where this story begins.


	2. The First Time

"_Would you like some fruit punch?"_

* * *

><p>The first time he asked her, she was there by accident, trying to find the Licorice Wands.<p>

The Slug Club party was in full swing, but she was having no fun. Her date was too busy sharing crude jokes with Fabian and Gideon Prewett to entertain her, so she had left, wandering around aimlessly to look for her favorite candy. The air was thick with perfume and laughter, and there were so many different tables filled with so many different sweets, that she didn't know where to start.

After having scoured three different tables, she made her way over to the punch table, not noticing a familiar, messy-haired boy filling up his cup.

"Would you like some fruit punch?"

"No thanks," she said, jumping and turning to face him.

"Ouch," he said, running a hand through his hair as she chewed on her lip. "First you don't want to be my date, and now you won't even take some punch from me?"

"I told you that someone else had already asked me," she said, frowning slightly.

"If I would have asked you sooner, would you have come with me?" he inquired, leaning across the vat of fizzing red juice to study her face.

Of course she would have come with him! He had changed drastically over the break between sixth and seventh year (or was it she who had changed drastically?). Regardless of who had changed, he was nice now; and everyone knew she had a thing for Quidditch players thanks to Alice's big mouth.

Her eyes caught on the three buttons on his shirt that were undone exposing a sliver of the skin that every witch in the school salivated over.

She yanked her eyes up to his quickly, before she could start drooling.

"Well?" he pushed.

"I don't know," she lied, before giving him a small smile and walking away in the opposite direction.

He watched her until she disappeared behind a large group of students, the smirk that _used_ to get him everything he wanted dancing on his lips.

_a/n: I know, I know, she didn't tell him that she liked him! Don't worry, there will be two more chapters in which she WILL! :) _


	3. The Second Time

_"Would you like some fruit punch?"_

* * *

><p>The second time he asked her, she was there for her date, who kept requesting refills.<p>

She walked over to the punch table, her mouth turned down in scowl. It was _not_ her responsibility to make sure Diggory was well hydrated, no matter how much fun he was having with Fabian and Gideon. _James_ would never make her get his drinks for him, she was sure of that much.

She sighed as she caught sight of his rolled up sleeves and well-toned fore arms pouring himself another drink at the table.

_Like a real man_, she thought sourly.

"So we meet at the juice table again," Potter said, grinning at her as she came to stand beside him. "Would you like some fruit punch?"

"I wouldn't, but Amos would," she replied, glancing suspiciously at her date, who was growing increasingly rowdy with every glass he drank.

As Potter ladled the fruit punch into her cup, she noticed that his hair seemed even messier than before, whether from his own hand or a girl's, she couldn't be sure. All she was sure of was the jealousy that suddenly erupted inside her at the thought of a girl (that would've been her if she hadn't agreed to come with Diggory) running her fingers sensually through Potter's permanently windblown hair.

As Potter finished ladling, she took a sip and almost gagged from the taste. The punch was _definitely _spiked with Firewhiskey or something of the sort. No wonder Amos was so thirsty.

She spit the punch back into the cup, making a face at the taste, and Potter let out a barking laugh. "That's for Diggory, yeah?"

"Yes," Lily said, wondering how he knew who she was here with. They both looked over at the corner where he was now belching loudly with the Prewetts.

"He seems like a charmer," Potter said sarcastically, and she ignored his comment, because if they got into a debate over if Diggory was a good date or not, Lily would be against him too, and Potter didn't need to know what a dreadful time she was having.

"So...did _you_ find a date?" she asked, in what she hoped was a casual voice.

He nodded. "Yes, I did actually."

Of course he did.

She tried not to let this bother her too much. Of _course_ she wouldn't have been his only option.

"So, who'd you come with?"

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the tall, blonde, giggly Emmeline Vance stumbled over to James.

"Hey, is that my punch? Thank you _so much_, doll," she gushed, slurring every other word, her fingers raking through his hair as she took a large gulp of the juice.

Lily's stomach jolted and she raised her eyebrows. So they were _both_ getting punch for their dates…at least Amos wasn't dressed like a harlot. James' face reddened as Emmeline continued to cling onto him and drink punch, talking in sentences that didn't make sense. As Emmeline curled his messy locks around her fingers again, the jealousy Lily had felt an echo of earlier exploded inside her, clawing at her insides. She swallowed heavily, trying to contain the anger that was slowly building. Who did she think she was, touching Potter's hair and hanging onto him for dear life? If Lily hadn't have said no to James, then Emmeline wouldn't even be here in the first place! She had _no right_ to...to throw herself at him like that! As James' hand snaked around Emmeline's waist, helping to hold her upright, Lily seriously reconsidered her decision not to drink.

James' hazel eyes locked onto hers, filled with an emotion Lily did not try and decode as she cleared her throat.

"Your date seems like a charmer too, Potter," Lily said in a strangled voice, turning and walking away before she could say or do anything she was sure to regret.


	4. The Third Time

_"Would you like some fruit punch?"_

* * *

><p>The third time he asked her, she was there on purpose.<p>

After dealing with an increasingly drunk Amos Diggory for the whole night, and receiving an inspirational pep talk from Marlene about how you have to "go after what you want", which she took to heart because Marlene was the expert in getting what she wanted-especially tonight, since she had somehow managed to snog Sirius while he was getting his girlfriend a cucumber sandwich-Lily had decided to approach James Potter.

It wasn't an easy decision, not by a long shot; she kept coming up with reasons why she shouldn't do it (which were forgotten everytime she caught a glimpse of him across the room, laughing), and reasons why he wouldn't like it (even though everyone knew those reasons were just a load of dragon dung), and reasons why they couldn't work (which mainly consisted of too much fighting); reasons, reasons, reasons that kept piling up in her head as she loitered around the punch table for endless minutes, just waiting for _that _voice.

As soon as she heard it, all of the reasons fell apart.

"Would you like some fruit punch?"

She whirled around and faced Potter, who was smiling crookedly. "Hello again," he said, cocking his head to the side. "Come to fill up Diggory's glass?"

"No," she said, swallowing nervously, looking past him to Marlene who was giving her an encouraging thumbs up. "You can fill up one for me."

"That's the spirit!" he said, happily pouring some Firewhiskey-Fruit-Punch into a cup and handing it to her.

She took a small sip and swallowed with difficulty, her throat searing. "I think we're the only two sober people left," she said, looking up at him from under long lashes and smiling coyly.

His heart jumped at the sight. Was she…was she trying to _flirt_ with him?

"I reckon you're probably right," he said slowly, watching her carefully.

She gathered up every ounce of courage in her body (she _was _in bloody Gryffindor), pushing away the small voice that was whispering, _Lily, don't do it, just wait for the next time he asks you out_.

Then a part of her wondered, _What if there is no next time?_ and she began to speak.

"You know, Potter, you make messy look good."

"Do I?" he asked, a wide grin breaking out across his face that soothed her nerves. She took another sip of the drink.

"You do. And, you know, I would rather like to dance with someone who won't step on my feet."

He nodded. "I would like for you to do that to," he said, one eyebrow raising as he wondered if she'd had anything to drink before just now.

"What do you say?" she asked, taking a step closer.

Her pulse increased as his smile faltered.

"Lily, I—I don't think my date would like that very much," he said, remorse coloring his words.

Her insides froze. He had to be a bloody gentleman _now_?

Her stomach felt like it was dropping as she stared at him in disbelief. She had been so sure he would say yes, was so sure that he would be _ecstatic _to dance with her, Lily Evans, proclaimed love-of-his-life. She took a small step back, blinking furiously, irrationally embarrassed. She should have never listened to Marlene; this was _certainly_ not what she had wanted.

James was watching her now, from under his bangs, and she looked away, so over come with disappointment and chagrin and just simple _hurt_, that she couldn't think of anything else to do but take another swig of the spiked drink. "Your date?" she asked tightly.

"Yeah," he said, frowning. "Emmeline..."

"I know who your date is," she snapped, reverting back to the anger that had never failed her in moments like these. "But in case you haven't noticed, she's not even with you right now."

"Yeah, but—"

"In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw her feeling up Professor Slughorn an hour ago!"

"She is not that drunk!" James protested, rolling his eyes.

"I bet she's just using you to get into the party," Lily said sourly, swallowing another large mouthful of the punch as tears stung her eyes. "I heard she does that."

"You might not like it," James began tersely, and Lily interrupted him, her eyes flashing.

"I never said I didn't like her!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't say you said that!" Potter said, his voice raising slightly. "I _meant_ that you didn't like the fact that I'm here with her!"

"That is not true!"

"Oh, really?" he scoffed as she downed the rest of her drink in a large, angry gulp. "Because it sure seems like you've got a problem with her."

"You're the one who insulted Amos, does that mean you're upset I'm here with him?" she probed, taking a step closer to James' tense body, the Firewhiskey rushing through her veins, mixing with her irritation, and erasing her common sense.

"Damn right, I'm upset! You were supposed to come with me!"

"I wasn't _supposed _to do anything! You didn't ask me soon enough!" she cried angrily.

"Is that why your wand's in a knot?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "Because I wasn't _quick enough_? If you wanted to come with me so badly, you should've said no to Diggory!"

"I didn't say that! Stop putting words in my mouth!" she gasped, her cheeks tinting red.

"What is it you're saying then, Evans? What do you want me to do?"

"Say you don't like Emmeline!"

"I don't like Emmeline, Evans!"

"Then why'd you come with her?"

"Because she asked me to, and you were going with Diggory, and I wanted to have a good bloody time with _someone_!"

"And did you have a 'good _bloody_ time', Potter?" Lily asked, breathing heavily as Potter threw his hands into the air.

"NO! I didn't, alright! Did you?" he yelled exasperatedly.

"No, it was _terrible_, thank you for asking!" she said shrilly, glaring into his hazel eyes that were on fire with rage.

"Then why are you yelling at me and not Diggory?" he asked indignantly.

"Because!" she shrieked, crossing her arms. "I like _you_, Potter! Not Diggory! And I _would've_ had a good time if you would've just gotten up off your arse and asked me an hour earlier!"

His mouth fell open in shock, not believing what his ears were telling him. Everything had to be difficult with Evans. She couldn't just open her mouth and calmly tell him how she felt; she had to scream it at him. "Oh yeah?" he began irately. "Maybe _you_ should get off _your_ arse and ask _me_ for a change!"

"I just asked you to dance, Potter! Unfortunately, you don't think your _date_ would '_like that very much'_, when she isn't even lucid enough to get angry!" Lily huffed angrily, scowling deeply at Potter. "Have a nice night," she spat, turning to leave.

With a noise that resembled a growl, he grabbed her by the hand and tugged her over to where Emmeline was talking to a gargoyle, ignoring her protests.

"Emmeline," he said, waving a hand in front of her face. "Emmeline! I'm going to dance with Lily."

"Okay," she said, giggling loudly. "I'm going to go snog Gideon."

"Have fun with that," James said, rolling his eyes and yanking Lily onto the dance floor, placing one hand tightly on her waist and capturing her hand in the other one.

Her heart was beating wildly, anger still pulsing through her, and they were both breathing heavily; the slow, mellow tempo of the song that was playing was making them restless.

The tension began to mount. The warmth of her body was seeping into his, his touch dancing at her hips, her smell invading his nose and whirling through his mind, his heartbeat pounding against her through his loosely tucked in shirt…she sighed agitatedly and bit her lip, looking up at him and finding that his hazel eyes were already burning into her. The eye-contact made her blood rush quicker.

She sighed again, and he stopped swaying with her, his nostrils flaring. "You're the one who wanted to dance Lily, if you don't like it—"

"Oh, bloody hell, James! Don't you ever stop talking?" she asked sharply, jerking her hand out of her grip and placing it forcefully on her hip.

He glared at her. "I didn't know you wanted me to stop talking!"

"I want us _both_ to stop talking, you twit!"

"Are you bloody serious?" he asked, his face livid.

"Yes!"

"Why didn't you just say so, damn it?"

"Becau-"

With a groan that made her stomach shiver, James caught her cheek and pulled her up to his face forcefully, letting his lips crash down on hers, smothering her next insult in a swirl of soft lips and warm hands and the satisfaction she'd waited _forever_ to get. She inhaled deeply as his soft lips pressed against her and her hands found his neck, pulling him against her tightly. He deepened the kiss expertly, his tongue sweeping across and soothing her bottom lip as he bit it hungrily in a storm of desire. She whimpered slightly, opening her mouth eagerly, begging for more. His hands found her hair, her waist, her cheek, her back; they moved everywhere, feeling her luscious skin and smooth hair as they kissed with bruising force until they couldn't breathe properly and they broke apart, panting.

"Evans, you don't know how long I've wanted to do that," he said, exhaling loudly, the tension abated for the moment.

"Was it as good as you always imagined?" she teased, her eyes roving over every inch of that wonderful, wonderful face.

"It was better."

"It did seem pretty good," a new voice spoke.

James and Lily whipped their heads towards the sound, only to find Remus standing there, his hair tousled and his shirt halfway unbuttoned.

"Hey," he said, waving at Lily.

"Er...hello."

"Moony," James hissed, giving him a worried look that he normally reserved for Drunk-Sirius. "What do you need?"

"Well," he began, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "I was wondering if you knew where that pesky key to the broom closet in the south eastern dungeon was. It seems to be missing, and, well..." he dropped his voice to a loud whisper, chuckling and pointing over his shoulder at Dorcas Meadowes, whose hair was even more messed up than Remus', her tight dress riding up a little high on her leg. "I'm in terrible need of it."

James raised his eyebrows, a smile playing on his features. "Last time I saw it, it was in Sirius' bedside drawer."

"Thanks mate," Remus said, pausing to give a polite but slightly awkward, "Good bye, Lily," before stumbling away.

Lily raised her eyebrows at James, staring at him questioningly. He let out a loud laugh, and she followed suit, giggling madly at Remus' behavior and the fact that she could kiss James whenever it tickled her fancy. In fact...

She stood on her tip toes, pulling on his loosely knotted tie until his lips pressed against hers, and his hands found her waist again. She nipped at his lip, slipping her tongue into his mouth and raking her fingers through that damn hair of his. The ferocity of the kiss returned as if they'd never stopped in the first place, each pressing themselves against the other until they were absolutely melded together, trying to fit seven years of aching passion and fury into this one moment of breathless ecstasy. He groaned, pulling back apologetically as she pressed herself still closer. "If you keep this up, _we're_ the ones who are going to need the key to that broom closet."

Lily's mouth fell open and she struggled to catch her breath as she rested her head against his chest. "James Potter!" she scolded, trying to sound as stern as possible under the current circumstances. "I am not that kind of girl!"

"I know, Lily Evans. You're _my_ kind of girl."

And he wrapped his arms around her tightly once more, vowing to himself that he would never let her go again.

_a/n: Well? What do you think? Personally, this is my favorite chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!_


End file.
